Automotive door assemblies (door assemblies) are well known. Clearly, the primary function of door assemblies is to allow for the ingress and the egress of automotive vehicles. The door assemblies also contain window driving mechanisms, protect occupants from side impacts, and serve various other functions.
Existing door assemblies typically include a steel inner wall. The inner wall is usually provided by stamping sheet metal with a sufficient depth of draw so as to form extensive side portions projecting therefrom. The length of the side portions may determine a size of the door cavity and a thickness of the door assembly. The structure of the side portions also typically provides a styling to the door assembly. The door cavity normally has an intrusion beam, the window driving mechanism, and a variety of other hardware contained therein. Consequently, the side portions must be of sufficient length to provide the necessary space within the door cavity.
Steel typically is used to form the inner wall because it has sufficient ductility for undergoing the required depth of draw for forming the side portions. Unfortunately, some metals have lower formability and are consequently damaged when drawn to the require depth. Typical damage to the metal includes wrinkling of the metal, tearing of the metal, and various other defects.
One such metal having lower formability than steel is aluminum. Further, aluminum does not have sufficient ductility for allowing an extensive elongation thereof during manufacture. It is widely known that automotive manufacturers are incorporating aluminum into automotive vehicles to improve fuel economy, emissions, and vehicle performance. Aluminum may reduce the overall vehicular weight without sacrificing the desired performance of vehicular components. Thus, it is disadvantageous that certain metals, i.e. aluminum, with low formability characteristics typically cannot be incorporated into existing door assemblies.
Further, the side portions of existing door assemblies typically have end portions of the intrusion beam attached thereto. Once all hardware is mounted to the inner wall, the side portions have an outer perimeter of an outer wall mounted thereto.
The side portions also support the door assembly in order to reduce the amount of door sag. The side portions typically have reinforcements attached thereto for increasing resistance to door sag. In particular, the reinforcements strengthen mounting portions of the inner wall for attaching a hinge device and a latch device to the door assembly. Further, the reinforcements may also stiffen a window frame integrally formed within the inner wall of the door.
The use of metals having low formability characteristics does not allow for existing door assemblies to have the side portions extensively drawn from the inner wall. Thus, the aforementioned benefits of the side portions would be forgone.
Therefore, a need exists to provide a door assembly that allows for the use of aluminum metal, maintains torsional rigidity of the door, increases stiffness of the window frame, permits a proper attachment for an intrusion beam, and reinforces attachment areas for receiving a hinge device and a latch device.
The present invention provides an automotive door assembly (door assembly). In carrying out the present invention, the door assembly allows for the use of metals having low formability, the improvement of manufacture, and the improvement of performance.
The door assembly includes an inner door having an inner panel. The inner panel has a first seat and a second seat integrally formed therein. The first seat has a first side member fixedly attached thereto for separating an exterior of the door assembly from a door cavity thereof. The first side member also reinforces the automotive door assembly. Likewise, the second seat has a second side member fixedly attached thereto for separating the exterior of the door assembly from the door cavity thereof. The second side member also reinforces the automotive door assembly. The inner panel, the first side member, and the second side member have an outer door attached thereto for enclosing the door cavity. Preferably, aluminum metal constitutes at least one of the inner panel, first side member, and second side member.
One advantage of the present invention is that aluminum and other various lightweight metals having low formability characteristics may be used for the door assembly. Another advantage of the present invention is that the stiffness of the window frame is reinforced. Still yet another advantage of the present invention is that torsional rigidity in the door assembly is reinforced.
These and other advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the invention, when viewed in accordance with the accompanying drawings and appended claims.